LOS ANGELES-Mom and pop retailers still have a solid place in the storefront landscape, says Scott Burns, the president of Wilson Commercial Real Estate. That's even as national retailers increasingly take smaller spaces in an effort to compete in urban markets.

Burns's company is doing well in the post-recession retail comeback. They have leased 282,000 square feet and scored more than $350 million in investment sales in the first half of this year. The firm has 13 new listing assignments on board, totaling more than 544,000 square feet.  

The small mom and pop operators are filling a void caused by the over-expansion of previous years, Burns tells GlobeSt.com. “There's definitely room,” he says. “Going into the recession, we had an unprecedented boom in our sectors, so there's an abundance of shop space. In the junior box size down to the shops, there's a large inventory of space. This is the void in the non-food retailers, and it's being driven by those with a large amount of shop space. It's a matter of finding the successful retailers with the know-how to operate their businesses.”

Burns also sees more opportunity for what he terms “the food desert,” which he defines as “the inner city – South Central, lower-income, high-crime areas continue to be challenged with attracting chain retailers. I've had many conversations with retail where sometimes the crime issue is the challenge. Because that level of the population is being squeezed, their dollars don't go as far, so retailers have a hard time with that. And unfortunately, that causes customers to have to buy outside of those markets.”

The Inland Empire, Palmdale, Lancaster and Santa Clarita are areas where retail activity is still struggling over the last year, Burns says. “The positive news is we're starting to see some activity out there, tenants that are placing themselves in ground zero, looking for a second store with a mandate to grow. They will look at the secondary, tertiary markets.”

Burns says Los Angeles in general is a “healthy, stable market, with real steady activity with national retailers that continue to fill the gaps in their coverage and expand upon their marketplace. We've seen new entries to this market with Aldi coming in and Walmart creating a buzz in the urban market. Downtown has a lot of attention. It's a little slower from a lease-up standpoint. Small shops are struggling because, in general, there remains a gap in small, non-food retailers. We're not seeing gift shops and jewelry stores and even in soft goods, we're not seeing a whole lot of new tenants or existing ones that are expanding.”

Hollywood, West Hollywood and the La Brea corridor has a lot of activity, Burns notes, particularly with the mixed-use retail/residential projects. “Many of them have solid tenants in tow.” But, he adds, retailers in residential settings face some particular challenges. “Parking is not as convenient. For larger retailers, it's important to make sure the loading is convenient and you're not dealing with long corridors or moving up and down elevators. And frankly, while there are quite a few successful mixed-use projects, you don't have the volume that you do in a more traditional environment. People are trying to figure it out, and others will follow.”

The suburban markets are strong, Burns says, owing to the urban sprawl of Southern California that has created so many communities. “We represent Dollar Tree, and with us, they had about 100 deals. In 2009, it was easier for them to find space. They're now competing with a variety of retailers, not just discounters – Petco, BevMo, Office Depot are going into smaller spaces. It's more of a competitive environment. The owners who flip are always looking at their portfolio.”

As previously reported by GlobeSt.com, Walmart is on the move in California, with its Walmart Neighborhood Market concept rapidly expanding in the state.